My LS story.

RichieboyLS

RichieboyLS

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Hello all. I have been reading the forum for about a week now and finally decided to register, looks like a awesome community. I figured I'd introduce myself with my story of coming to own a Lincoln LS.

I was searching for a new car because my '96 Pontiac Bonneville was crapping out on me. The constant smell of gas made me scared that I was gonna blow up any day now. When at the dealership I was stuck between a 2002 Camry 4cyl and a 2004 Lincoln LS V8. Both were stickered for 10,000. Reliability or Awesomeness. I chose awesomeness.

First day out the lot my car when into ETC Engine failsafe mode on the highway. Crap, what did I get myself into... Drove back to the dealer and they replaced a part on the electronic throttle body. Sat around for a week pissed the eff off. When I finally got the car back I was loving it.

So far I've been having no problems, other than an alignment issue that made my steering wheel be off center. People were telling me it was a Rack and Pinion shot. I thought maybe I had made a mistake with the LS. Turned out my alignment was off real bad. Had me scared though because one time while braking really hard my car jerked violently onto the wrong side of the rode. After searching I find out it may have been the advancetrac kicking in because the wheel was off center. All is well now.

My only gripes are the fuel economy. I get 12-13miles/gallon in the city and 20-24 on the highway. Also I feel like my tranny sometimes takes to long to shift and if I give it gas while it's downshifting it sometimes kicks. Also when I put it into drive, especially when I don't let the engine warm up I feel like my car drops into gear. Same thing with reverse I feel like I pop up. If I don't go from reverse to drive or drive to reverse slowly it doesn't feel like the car likes it very much. After all the reviews I read saying that the car has a "confused transmission" I feel like this is something I have to live with.

All in all the LS has been my favorite car to date. I've driven a 2001 Malibu V6 that I aquired in 2005 and junked in 2007 POS!, 1995 Dodge Caravan, 1989 Taurus and a 1996 Bonneville. I love this car and am happy to be part of this forum. Thanks for reading! Peace!
 
Welcome aboard. Get a tune from torrie at fastpartsnetwork.com , torrie@fastpartsnetwork.com, he'll make you're tranny shift better. In it's good days, you can't help but love the ls
 
Cool I'll have to check that out. Don't even know how a tune works or how to install one. Also, gotta say RWD rocks! I was driving my cousin's Azera last week. Beautiful car but I really got a feel for RWD over FWD. Barring snow, it's so much nicer to drive.
 
He just make adjustments to the pcm and and transmission. He does the hard part, you just have to order it, when it arrives connect it to the obd2 port below the steering wheel, then just upload the tune
 
Alax7 said:
He just make adjustments to the pcm and and transmission. He does the hard part, you just have to order it, when it arrives connect it to the obd2 port below the steering wheel, then just upload the tune
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Does this require purchasing any other equipment, or is the tune plug and play? I have been thinking about doing this same thing, but I thought I would have to buy some type of tool to link and upload.
 
You need an xcal with the custom tune loaded onto it. Also the vehicle can't have any issues or a tube will just make things worse as you are pushing the engine harder.
 
seekonkholen1 said:
Does this require purchasing any other equipment, or is the tune plug and play? I have been thinking about doing this same thing, but I thought I would have to buy some type of tool to link and upload.
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You need an xCal, and he will make the tune for you. Torrie is not the only option, either.
 
RichieboyLS said:
...Also when I put it into drive, especially when I don't let the engine warm up I feel like my car drops into gear. Same thing with reverse I feel like I pop up. If I don't go from reverse to drive or drive to reverse slowly it doesn't feel like the car likes it very much. ...
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You are describing the classic first warning signs that the solenoid assembly in the transmission is failing. Get that replaced and the harsh engagements and some of the shifting issues will go away. Don't replace it and it will get worse and worse and may cause mechanical damage to the transmission.

Have the transmission fluid completely exchanged at the same time. Some 04's came with defective transmission fluid from the factory.
 
++1 on the xCal and tunes for better shift performance.

I the interium, or if tight on cash, you can also try resetting the computer that controls your trans and having it relearn shift points based on your driving habits. See page 228 and 283 of your owners guide (Gen 2). You do this by disconnecting the battery for at least a couple of hours and some go overnight. This may help and since it costs nothing it's worth a try.
 
joegr said:
You are describing the classic first warning signs that the solenoid assembly in the transmission is failing. Get that replaced and the harsh engagements and some of the shifting issues will go away. Don't replace it and it will get worse and worse and may cause mechanical damage to the transmission.

Have the transmission fluid completely exchanged at the same time. Some 04's came with defective transmission fluid from the factory.
Click to expand...

Hold on a second.. sorry to hijack, but on cold starts only, my LS squats and jerks (slightly) when I put it into reverse. Once I back out of my garage and go into drive, it jerks (rather harsh) forward. Although once the car has warmed up, it is butter smooth.

Does this still indicate a failing solenoid?
 
M4rk said:
Hold on a second.. sorry to hijack, but on cold starts only, my LS squats and jerks (slightly) when I put it into reverse. Once I back out of my garage and go into drive, it jerks (rather harsh) forward. Although once the car has warmed up, it is butter smooth.

Does this still indicate a failing solenoid?
Click to expand...

In my limited experience, yes.
 
M4rk said:
Hold on a second.. sorry to hijack, but on cold starts only, my LS squats and jerks (slightly) when I put it into reverse. Once I back out of my garage and go into drive, it jerks (rather harsh) forward. Although once the car has warmed up, it is butter smooth.

Does this still indicate a failing solenoid?
Click to expand...

No. I have the same characteristics, both before and after swapping in a new solenoid pack.
 
JoshMcMadMac said:
No. I have the same characteristics, both before and after swapping in a new solenoid pack.
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Well, it fixed those symptoms for me. Of course it's possible for different faults to produce the same symptoms.
 
joegr said:
Well, it fixed those symptoms for me. Of course it's possible for different faults to produce the same symptoms.
Click to expand...

I would be more inclined to believe the issue to be fluid related; too much, too little, or old transmission fluid.
 
The only time I have the *jerk* issue is if the car hasn't warmed up and the idle is still high. I normally wait about 20 - 30sec for the idle to drop to normal and shifts fine....is this maybe what people are describing?
 
Bildabo said:
The only time I have the *jerk* issue is if the car hasn't warmed up and the idle is still high. I normally wait about 20 - 30sec for the idle to drop to normal and shifts fine....is this maybe what people are describing?
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With me, it would do it all the time, but it was worse under those circumstances. Post fix, it doesn't do it at all, and my 06 never has done it.
 
Yeah same here. I wait for RPM's to drop past 1 then the reverse and drive don't drop as harsh. What do ya guys think I'm looking at for a solenoid pack? $500 range? It's gonna hurt my wallet but I'll do whatever I need to for my baby. Now to find a tranny shop? Is this not something that my local mechanic can do? Waiting for a promotion at work. Not till September, I need some more income now! Thanks guys for the responses.
 
Lol, I feel embarrassed I am bone ass stock and I have a nasty crack in my rear bumper. Other than that she looks sexy. I will try to get some pics up soon. I think the way you guys have your cars looking is sick. I would like to do some modding but keep it relatively conservative. Maybe an LSE grill, no kit though. I'd like to get my hands on the chrome stock rims. I just have the alloy, which don't look bad. Even with stock 17's this car looks great. Probably just get the grill, CAI, and a tune. I kinda like the way the exhaust sounds now but we'll see. :cool:
 
Here's a pic of my LS. Once it's back from the shop I'll get some better hi-res ones up. She's bone stock.

IMG00027-20101001-1839.jpg
 
:ballon :W :ballon


Sorry to go off topic but my car also squats only on cold starts in the morning. Other than that it goes away. I have and issue from when 0-30km/h it jerks, I have been using tiptronic to by pass using 1st gear. Doing a transmission flush this coming Friday hopefully that will help if not should I look into changing the solenoid pack? If so where should I get one( Dealer ideal), is this a DIY job ?
 
Angel12 said:
Sorry to go off topic but my car also squats only on cold starts in the morning.
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I've always thought this was just "the big dog pulling to get off the chain", I always told her to calm down, but then I usually take off the chain and let her stretch her legs out a little.
 
LOL. My friend said that is just how the tranny is in this car. I still wanna bring it to a tranny shop when I get around to it.
 
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